Self adjusting window masking device



April ll, 1961 M. MUND SELF ADJUSTING WINDOW MASKING DEVICE Filed July 28. 1959 xl l l l la l INVENTOR. MORRIS MUND BY ATTORMY United SELF ADJUsrrNG WlNnow MAsKrNG DEVICE Mams Muss, 7a4 Towne Bldg., Philadelphia '7, ra.,

assignor of one-tenth to Karl L. 'Spivak and one-fifth to Paul Ji. OBrien, both of Philadelphia, Pa.

Filed July 28, 1959, Ser. No. 830,136 3 Claims. (Cl. 118-505) to both hold the masking device in position as well as to make the invention self adjusting.

Masking devices heretofore in use have consisted primarily of various types of masking tapes. While such devices are generally eiective, their disadvantage lies in the fact that they are costly to install and remove inasmuch as skilled mechanics are employed in this work. Also, previous masking tapes can only be once used and then they must be discarded. As pointed out in my previous invention, Patent Number 2,883,962 issued April 28, 1959, present methods of masking are costly in that both time and material are wasted.

The instant invention represents an improvement and simplification over my previous invention above 'mentioned in that the self adjusting mechanism has been greatly simplified thus reducing costs of construction and making utilization easier.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a self adjusting masking device capable of simplifying the window masking operation.

lt is another object of this invention to provide a Window masking device that will greatly reduce the labor required to mask a window.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device that can be usedover and over again to mask windows.

Another object of this invention is to provide a window masking device that is suitable for use when either spray painting or hand painting around windows.

Another object ofthis invention is to provide a self adjusting masking devicewhich can be used with Window frames of various sizes and widths without utilizing masking tapes or other papers.

A further object of this invention is to provide a masking device that is self adjusting and self attaching to a window frame.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device that is rugged in construction, simple in operation and inexpensive to manufacture.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully illustrated, described and claimed. The following detailed description is not intended to be limiting but is set forth as a preferred embodiment.

In the drawing:

979,@25 Patented Apr. 1l, i961 i A closes a window made of glass or other material that is to bemasked.

The masking device comprises a first member or sheet 16 `composed of relatively stiff, strong sheet material. I

prefer to use No. 28gauge sheet steel or .025 aluminum for average sized Windows for this purpose. It Will of course be noted that it may be necessary t9 use a stronger material if the area to be masked increases greatly in size. Member 16 may be formed of any configuration or of any dimension dependingupon the frame work to which it rwill be applied. The shape ofthe membery 16 is merely shown here for purposes of illustration.

.On member 16 at approximately the center, a pocket 17 is spot Welded or riveted in place so that the longitudinal axis of the pocket coincides with the longitudinal axis of the member. Pocket is manufactured of sheet steel or similar material having atop 18 parallel with first member 16, two sides 19, 20 and back 21 perpendicular to first member 16 and openfront 22 to receive bar lock 23. Sides and back adjacent to first member are bent at'right angles to Vprovide anges 24 to facilitate attachingto rst member. 'The pocket is of sufficient size to receive bar lock 23 hereinafterfdescribed.

Rocket 17 ispprovided withan internal compression spring assembly "25 consistingof back .plate 26, compression spring 27 and plunger 28. The spring assembly is designed Vto iit within pocket 17 and .generally conforms to the configuration of the pocket. .In the initial or extended position, plunger 28 extends almost to open front 22. of pocket 17 but no t beyond.V In operation with bar lock 23, plunger is urged back into .pocket parallel with first member thereby compressing spring 27. Rubber or other resilient 'material could be used for this purpose. v

A secondmember29 is providedfor cooperative association with first. member 16, and of a configuration and shape which in association with member 16 will operate to mask the glassportion 15 of a frame to which itis applied.v Member29 is arranged to fit over memberl and may be offset at the Ypoint of overlap a distance equal to the thickness of thematerial of first member 16.in

order to assure a tight't againstglass portion 15. I have fiat side 34 of body portion 30I is spot welded-A or riveted Y to member at several positions along the length. One end V Figure 1 is a perspective view of the-device installed in a window frame.

vFigure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of j 4found this latter operation desirable when s heetsv of relatively thickmaterial are used. However, when using'thin sheet material, this step may be omitted without a sacrifice in the quality of the masking, thereby decreasing production costs.

A relatively elongated bar lock 23 is spot welded or riveted to member 29 so that the longitudinal axis of the bar lock coincides with longitudinal axis of member. Bar lock is composed of a body portion 30, a handle portion 31, an engaging portion 32 and engaging tip 33. 1 prefer to construct bar lock of relatively heavy material such as one inch by one-eighth inch bar iron or aluminum to l give entire masking device desired rigidity. The under of bar lock is bent back away from member 29 a distance stulicient to provide a finger'hold 31. Handle portion 31 may be shaped toany convenient configuration to permit ready operation. Engaging portion 32 extends beyondv mating edge 35 of second member a sufficient distance to engage latch 17 andvdepress plunger 28.v -End of-bar lock may `be enlarged by bending at right angles as shown at 33* to provide'greater areajof contact withplunger 28.

':,`, I'he'length, width' andY strength of 'the bar ilockused? depends on the masking area. As the area increases in size, the bar lock should be made stronger to provide desired rigidity. If desired, two or more bar lock and pocket assemblies may be used simultaneously .with one masking device when masking larger areas. In addition, the bar lock and pocket may be removably connected to the respective members to permit interchangeability with various sized members if desired in order to provide greater utility.

In order to operate the invention, first member 16 is placed in position flush over one portion of the glass in such away that the side portions 36, 37 are immediately adjacent the inner sides 38, 39 of frame rails 13, 14 and top portion 40 is immediately adjacent to inner side 41 of top of frame 11. Then second member is lifted into position over iirst member by holding bar lock handle31 and urging bar lock engaging portion 32, 33 into pocket 17,'thereby contacting plunger 28 and depressing spring 27. Second member is then applied ilush against glass with sides 42, 43 immediately adjacent the inner sides 38, 39 of frame rails 13, 14 and the engaging edge'SS over first member 16.y The action of the spring 27 and plunger 28 is such as to urge the bottom portion 44 of second member 29 into tight engagement with inner side 45 of bottom of frame 12 thereby completely masking the window. The bar lock 23 and pocket 17 serve to maintain second member tightly over first member as Well as to hold masking device tightly against top and bottom of frame.

From the foregoing, itcan be seen that l have lprovided a self adjusting window masking device whereby a window can be speedily and simply masked when spray painting or brush painting by a devicethat is readily applied and inexpensively manufactured.

It will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims which are to be construed as broadly as possible in view of the prior art. Having thus described my invention,

I claim:

l. A self adjusting window masking device for covering the glass portion of a window structure while painting the window frames thereof, comprising in combination f a first member having a shape complementary to the inner upper portion of said window frame, said first member having a longitudinal axis; a second member having -a shape complementary lto inner lower portion of said window frame, the bottom portion ofsaid rst member being in contact with the upper portion of said second member and said second member having a longitudinal axis, said longitudinal axis coinciding-with and continuing after longitudinal axis kof first member; a pocket hav ing a longitudinal axis rigidly connected to said first mem- 4 ber and connected so that the longitudinal axis of pocket is directly above and in line with longitudinal axis of first member, said pocket having one open front in direction o' said second member and closed rear in direction away from said second member; a compression spring having two ends mounted within said pocket, said spring having force of action applied in direction of said longitudinal axis of pocket, one end of spring mounted in stationary relation against said closed rear of pocket, and other end in moveable relation with said open front of pocket; a bar lock having two ends and a longitudinal axis rigidly connected to said second member, said longitudinal axis of bar lock being directly above and in line with longitudinal axis of second member, said bar lock comprising a body portion connected to said second member, a handle portion extending out from second member at said end furtherest from said upper portion of second member and an engaging portion at second end extending beyond upper portion of said second member, said engaging portion arranged for slideable insertion into said open front of said pocket whereby said compression spring is depressed causing first and Vsecond members to be urged against said frame thereby completely covering glass portion and masking the window.

2. A self adjusting window masking device as set forth in claim l wherein a compression spring having two ends is mounted within said pocket, said spring having force of action applied in direction towards said open front portion, one end of spring mounted in stationary relation against said rear closed portion, and other end in moveable relation with said open front portion, and wherein the said bar lock comprises a body portion, a handle portion extending out from said second member, and an engaging portion extending beyond upper portion of said second member, said engaging portion arranged for slideable insertion into said open front of pocket whereby said compression spring is depressed causing rst and second members to be urged against said respective adjacent portions of frame thereby covering glass portion and masking the window.

3. The window masking device set forth in claim l wherein the bottom portion of the rst member is provided with a bottom edge, the upper portion of the second member is provided with a top edge and the bottom edge of the first member is in contact with the top edge of the second member.

References Cited in the tileY of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS thm: 

